Chapter 10 – Village Life

Chapter 10 – Village Life

— Leon Greyrat —

“So... monsters are different from demons?” Sylphy asked, looking intently at a page in my notebook.

“Huh? Yeah, they’re completely different! Monsters are just animals that get mutated, usually by magic, and sometimes they become a species that continues for a long time,” I explained. “Demons, though, are just what the races that fought against the humans in the last war are called. Though Roxy said that now, demons are just whatever races live on the Demon Continent... But anyway, yes, they’re completely different from monsters.”

Roxy as a monster?

Ha. As if.

Sylphy, who was lying down on her stomach next to me, started kicking her legs up and down while her ears began to twitch.

“I see...”

She was evidently happy at the new information.

It made sense.

After all, she had been called a demon for quite a while, and even I hadn’t refuted the fact, so she must have been scared that she was just some evolved form of a monster.

“Ah, and what does this word here?” she asked, pointing at a string of text.

I peeked over her shoulder to see.

“That’s ‘burbling’. It means a gentle bubbling sound like this.”

I then summoned a ball of water before having it swirl around, creating the desired sound.

“Ah! I see!” she exclaimed.

It had been a few months since I had started playing with Sylphy, and our playtime had quickly turned into me teaching her about what I knew, such as writing, reading, history, and general knowledge.

I didn’t mind, though.

Not only was Sylphy a nice girl who was eager and excited to learn, but refreshing my mind by teaching another person was a great way to retain the knowledge.

She then closed the book before turning to face me with shining eyes.

“Leon... Can we start with magic now?!”

Yes... and she also really loved magic.

“Haa... yeah, come on, let’s do it then.”

I was a bit hesitant to teach her magic, as unlike Rudy and me, Sylphy was a normal kid.

Not only were there dangers in giving a child such a powerful thing like magic, but there was also the worry that teaching her something like magic too early would lead to burnout, or something similar.

But, seeing how adamant she was... who was I to refuse?

Besides, it would be good to have her start using mana when she was young so that she could optimize the growth of her magic power reserves while she could.

And also... if my theory was correct, chantless magic would be easier to learn as a child.

Even after all the time we spent together, and even though Roxy understood it, my teacher still couldn’t use chantless magic.

Though I felt that she was getting closer.

If I had to guess, something about being a child made one somehow more ‘in tune’ with mana, as that would also explain the growth period of magic you could have during childhood.

“Okay, when you cast the magic, make sure you focus on what you feel inside your body. It should feel like a warmth starting here,” I poked her belly, “that goes all the way to here,” I continued, tracing a path to her palm.

My little display caused Sylphy to burst into a fit of giggles, “T-That tickles, Leon!”

Hee~? I guess Sylphy was ticklish, huh?

Good to know.

“Now repeat after me. Slowly, while focusing on the words and the image of water. Just like how you concentrate when writing down a new word,” I said.

Getting a resolute nod from the girl, I chanted the spell for Waterball, watching as Sylphy excitedly observed the water come into being.

Dispersing the ball of water into the air as a thin mist, I motioned for Sylphy to try.

“You remember the words, right?” I asked.

“Yeah! Okay...” she said as she hesitantly extended her hand. “Let the vast and blessed waters converge where thou wilt and issue forth a single pure stream thereof - Waterball!”

And... nothing happened.

A failure, huh?

I suppose Roxy did say that most people didn’t get magic just by using a chant, especially a child like Sylphy, so that made sense.

“It was a good try. Though it may have been a little fast for someone who has yet to chant magic.”

Hearing Roxy’s voice, Sylphy let out a surprised ‘Eep!’ before running to hide behind my back.

“Good afternoon, Miss Roxy,” I said with a smile.

“I see you’re having fun, Leon. Taking on a new apprentice?” she said teasingly, looking over at the opened notebook.

I scratched my cheek in slight embarrassment. “Yeah... Sylphy is pretty interested in magic, so...”

“Is that so? Hmm... so a student of mine has already taken on a student... At this point, there’s no reason for me to be here anymore, is there?” she said.

“Y-You know that’s not true! I still have much to learn, and we’re close to getting to Intermediate-rank protection magic,” I stammered.

“I suppose that’s true,” she answered back.

Seeing the wind sweep Roxy’s hair to the side, I felt the tingling sensation return as I averted my eyes.

Stupid feelings!

“S-So what are you doing out here? You usually visit the village or practice alone at this time,” I asked.

Her smile turned a little strained as she answered, “Well... I was studying in my room, making a few lesson plans for tonight, but then I noticed I was missing a pair of panties... You wouldn’t know what happened, would you?”

I instantly covered my face with my hands.

Rudy... what are you doing with our beloved teacher?

“S-Sorry, Miss Roxy. I’m pretty sure-”

“Your brother stole them? Yeah, I figured. I just came out here to see how you were doing and to meet your friend. Although... perhaps that was a little forward of me,” she said, smiling at the still-hiding Sylphy.

“C’mon out and said hello. This is Miss Roxy, the nice teacher of mine I talked to you about,” I said, nudging the girl behind me.

“O-Okay. M-My name’s Sylphiette... but Leon calls me Sylphy,” she meekly said.

Roxy’s eyes widened a little as she saw her hair.

I guess that even if she had known about her green hair beforehand, and even seen it from when she commented on her casting speed, it was still ingrained in her to be scared of the Superd race and anything resembling it.

But, as I expected, she quickly overcame her slight fear and shock.

“Nice to meet you, Sylphy. I’m Roxy Migurdia, Leon and his brother’s tutor. Although it sometimes doesn’t feel that way...” she sent a small smile my way.

Sylphy nodded before asking, “D-Do you... hate my hair?”

Hmm... she was quite the perceptive kid, so she probably noticed Roxy’s momentary fear from before.

Roxy shook her head.

“No, it doesn’t bother me at all. After all, under certain angles, my hair also takes on a greenish tint.” She then ran her hand through her hair with a sad smile. “So, while not to the same extent, I can sympathize with you.”

Sylphy then balled her fist, mustering her courage, “I... I like your hair!”

I was a bit surprised that this meek friend of mine was able to speak up so well to a stranger, but I suppose she felt some connection with Roxy, as she was also a demon with troublesome hair.

But wow... how cute.

“Yesh, Mish Roxy,” I affirmed with some difficulty.

She let go with a smirk. “Good. And once you get a bit older...”

Her cheeks got a bit red before she hastily shook her head.

“No, never mind. Let’s work on that Intermediate-rank protection spell before it gets too late.”

With Intermediate-rank protection magic, or barrier magic as I liked to call it, I was having a bit of trouble understanding it, as there were only magic circles for activation and no incantations.

But I was hoping that once I understood them with magic circles, I would be able to convert it to chantless magic, or at least something similar.

I was able to use Beginner-rank barrier spells without a chant with no problem, and I could do the same with other spells up to the Advanced rank, so it shouldn’t be too big of a hurdle.

...Hopefully.

But even at the Beginner rank, there were quite a few useful barrier spells, such as Magic Shield, which, as the name implied, created a shield that blocked any magic attacks.

Through Roxy, I also learned quite an interesting thing about barrier magic.

That was... I really shouldn’t be able to learn this.

Or rather, we shouldn’t be able to learn this.

Protection magic had been banned for anyone to teach it beyond the Beginner rank unless you were a member of the Millishion Holy Knight Orders.

Even for the Beginner rank, the University of Ranoa, the greatest magic school in the world, didn’t teach it, hence why Roxy hadn’t learned it during her time there.

Apparently, Mama had used a few of her old noble connections and favours to get that book, and as long as I didn’t go around spreading my knowledge to everyone I knew, I should be safe.

...I really hope she wasn’t wrong.

But then again, it was unlikely for the Millis Church to send out their inquisitors just because a country boy and a random magic tutor, even if she was a demon, knew their secret arts.

And even if they did, Paul, Rudy, and I made a pretty strong team.

Plus, as long as I used it in unique ways without a chant, it would be difficult for anyone to find a connection with the church’s secret magic.

So Roxy and I were safe... hopefully.

“-so that’s how Physical Shield works... Hey, Leon? Are you even listening?” Roxy said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“Huh? Ah, yeah. It stops physical attacks, right?” I said.

Roxy looked at me doubtfully. “...Were you actually listening? Or did you just get that from the name of the spell?”

“Hehehe~” I opted not to answer.

“Haa...” she shook her head. “I’ll repeat from the beginning. This here-”

— Leon Greyrat —

I was now seven years old, and while I had recently become an Intermediate-rank barrier magician, that wasn’t what we were celebrating today.

Instead-

“Happy birthday, Rudy!”

-It was my little brother’s fifth birthday that was the occasion.

From Paul, Rudy had gotten a sword as well as a long accompanying speech about morals and strength.

At least the man didn’t stumble over his words this time.

Mama, meanwhile, had given him an encyclopedia of the flora in the region, with illustrations and descriptions to go along with it.

Since my brother and I shared all of our books, except for the barrier magic one, since he was more interested in elemental magic, I was also going to benefit from this, so I was quite happy about the new source of knowledge.

And last was Roxy.

“Here, I crafted it yesterday.”

Handing Rudy a stick with a small red stone at the tip, she continued, “Since both you and your brother could already use magic, I had forgotten, but once a student learns elementary magic, the teacher is meant to give them a wand. Ah, and here’s one for you too, Leon.”

She then handed me a similar wand, except the magic stone was blue at the tip.

Whoa... I wonder how this would affect my magic.

I’d have to test it out.

“Thank you, Master! I’ll take good care of it!” Rudy exclaimed, causing Roxy to grimace slightly.

Right... she really didn’t like being called ‘Master’, did she?

Something about her old teacher in Ranoa, but even I didn’t know the full story.

“Thank you, Miss Roxy,” I said with a bow.

“You’re quite welcome, you two,” Roxy said with a smile.

“Ah, by the way, Rudy.”

My brother turned his head at Paul’s words.

“Yes, Father?” he asked.

“You’ll be starting actual swordsmanship training tomorrow, so don’t do anything to piss your brother and me off! Hahaha-! Ouch!”

He got a pinch from Mama as a result.

Trembling slightly with worry, Rudy then looked over to me as I gave him a consoling pat on the head.

“Don’t worry. It’ll mostly be posture and forms to start. And since our dad is quite bad at explaining things, I’ll try to translate as best as I can.”

That seemed to relieve his worries a bit.

“Ah. And I got you something too,” I then pulled out a bag of dried fruits coated in honey. A candy I made with the help of Sylphy and Lilia.

“Sylphy and I went into the forest to get the things, and Lilia helped make them. So you could say it’s a present from all of us,” I said with a smile.

From said adventure, I was also able to put my chantless detoxification magic to use with the bee stings I got.

So you better appreciate it, brother!

“Thank you, brother!” Rudy exclaimed happily.

Sharing a hug with him, I was barely able to contain my laughter as I see Roxy look at the candies longingly.

Hee~? I knew she had a sweet tooth, but not to this extent.

Good thing I kept some extras in my room.

Noticing my gaze, her cheeks flushed as she averted her eyes.

“A-Ahem! T-There’s something else that must be discussed as well!”

Huh? What was this?

With both of us looking curiously at her, she continued, “You two have become Advanced-rank magicians in every school of attack magic, are completely literate, and can perform high-level arithmetic... which means there is only one thing I have left to teach you.”

“What does that mean, Master Roxy?” Rudy asked as he let go of me.

“Well... that means that it’s about time for your graduation,” she answered.

Ah, right.

I had expected this.

It was only natural, after all, even if it was sad.

But from the look on Rudy’s face, that didn’t seem to be the case for him.